Things that are always present in a Spanish kitchen (fyi: our kitchen can be categorized as a Spanish kitchen): olive oil (times 100), salt, fresh bread, eggs, fresh fruits and veggies, vinegar, olives, tuna, yogurt and cheese. Also common in the kitchen is a fridge full of half eaten/used food. For example half of an apple, part of a tomato, a quarter onion, and a plate full of cooked meat, all just sitting on the fridge shelves.
Not present in a Spanish kitchen: Tupperware or other storage containers, plastic bags, an abundance of cooking utensils, plastic wrap, foil, or a pantry for dry goods. In your average Spanish kitchens there may be a small cupboard or a few drawers where pasta, lentils, and rice are stored, but pre-made meals, canned goods, and packaged foods are very rare.
Getting used to these differences has been very interesting, but we are getting along just fine without the things I used to consider necessities. When I have left over food I put it on a plate, cover it with another plate and put it in the fridge. Right now I have a plate of pasta and sauce, half an apple, an uncovered glass full of homemade salad dressing, a cup of coffee, and ½ of a wheel of cheese. Also, on our counter is a cake, that our neighbor made for us, covered up with a plastic grocery bag. In Spanish culture it is normal for people to go to the grocery store or market every day or every other day to get the necessities: a few tomatoes, bread, and fresh meat for the day’s meal. Emily and I have been doing this to the extreme, often going to the grocery store and market in the same day and 5 days a week.
My classes- The classes that I have had so far are English conversation, math, and history with students in 1 ESO (like 6th grade). My time at the school is concentrated on giving classes to the students who were chosen to be in the Bilingual Program, as well as meeting with the professors who teach these classes in English. Because this is the first year that these students have been a part of this program, their level of English is very basic…they have trouble saying, “Hello, my name is _____.” So, you can only imagine how much they understand when I read them a paragraph in English about the 4 layers of the Earth and the effects of volcanism and the magnetosphere. They are all so sweet and listen intently the whole time, they really want to know what I am saying, but when I am done reading they just look at me with a blank face and when I ask them if they understand they just keep staring at me as if I never even asked a question. The most difficult part of this is having to explain certain words (like ‘also’) that are in the paragraph using English. The professor who gave me the paragraph to read does not want me to translate the word into Spanish, he would rather have me describe an example in English to explain the word. It is just too funny, I can’t help but laugh when I am trying to explain an English word to them with 20 other words that they don’t understand.
Travels- Last Saturday I was invited by one of the teachers at my school to go to Gibraltar with her and her family. Many Spaniards go to Gibraltar to buy things that are cheaper there: alcohol, tobacco, chocolate, perfumes, and gas, so that was the main purpose of our visit. It took us about an hour to drive there and I was entertained the whole time by her 4 and 8 year old daughters, Julia and Bea, who were telling me jokes and stories. After entering Gibraltar we went to the top of the rock on a cable car. The view was amazing, we could see Morocco, and the monkeys were very cute and entertaining. Other than that, the city of Gibraltar didn’t have much to offer me and it proved to be more expensive for me than Spain because everything is valued in Libras ($ times 2).
The best part of the trip was spending time with Spanish families (the teacher’s sister’s family also came). Everything was so relaxed, very tranquil, no rush to do anything. The first thing we did after entering Gibraltar was sit down at a café for an hour to eat breakfast and have a coffee. Then, after seeing the rock and the monkeys, we went right to lunch where we stayed and chatted for about two and a half hours. After lunch we walked down the main shopping street, for about 45 minutes, at the end of which we sat down again and rejuvenated for another hour with coffee and dessert. It was incredibly relaxing and stress free, even with 3 young children.
To complete the weekend, on Sunday Emily and I went to a barbecue in the country with our new friends. Again, true to Spanish style, we first met at a café at noon where everyone had either a coffee or a beer. It was at the café where plans were made, and two hours later it was finally decided where we were going to go, what food we were going to buy, who was going to ride with who, etc. Once we got to the country, a public picnic area in forest about 30 minutes from Jerez, we ate, talked, and kicked the soccer ball until 7pm. On our way home we stopped at a café for a coffee and treat, then headed to a different bar to watch a soccer game, and were dropped at home at 10pm. I think one of the most valuable lessons I am learning and will continue to learn here is to relax and enjoy my free time and really value my time with friends. Emily would say I have a long way to go, but its not for lack of effort!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Never a dull moment...
Last week was my first week of ‘work’ at my school. It consisted of meeting wonderful professors, drinking café con leche and fresh orange juice in the school cafeteria, and using the computers and free internet in the teacher’s lounge. I also attended one class, 2nd year English with students aged 15-17, which was quite fun although I am pretty sure they had no idea what I was saying. My direct supervisor, Pepe, the Bilingual Program Coordinator at the school, seems very laid back about the hours I will be working and wants to make sure we can both be flexible about what classes I attend each week. I am interested to see how this works out as he seems to think that we can just meet every Monday morning to decide my schedule for the week.
This weekend, which stretched from Thursday through Monday thanks to what the Spanish call a “puente” (bridge) which links multiple días de fiesta together, allowed us to participate in many interesting events throughout the city. Thursday Emily and I went to the city of Cádiz, the sister city of Havana, Cuba to sit at the beach and relax in the 80 degree weather. It was great. Not having a beach towel, I brought the extra pillow case that came with my sheets (actually, the ‘sheets’ that I bought in a 2x1 deal turned out to be comforter covers…currently my mattress is inside of one and the other I use as a double sheet) which proved to work just fine.
That night Emily and I decided to venture out to start Operation Make Spanish Friends, and we started at a bar called La Moderna where we had seen university aged, hippie-types the week before. Arriving at 10:00pm, early for Spanish night-life, we were surprised that the bar was closing soon after our arrival and that there was no one in the bar even as young as double our age. (Although we did not make any friends, we did meet a 60 year old man whose father was born in Wisconsin which was pretty coincidental.)
We continued our night at a bar called Cuatro Gatos where we went to see live music by a duo called Nacho and Gunnar. Venturing out on our own to make friends was a very interesting experience. I am pretty shy in English, so you can only imagine how I feel making friends in Spanish. I really have to put myself out there, mix with the people, and forget about the being shy or making mistakes when speaking. The first friend we made was a woman from Israel, who is here in Jerez to learn flamenco and who was so excited to hear us speaking English…it was a good start, but we still needed Spanish friends who could force us to speak Spanish.
After the concert we were continuing our operation when we saw someone in the bar wearing a Vermont shirt. Although clearly American, we thought it might be good to talk to him, find out what he was doing in Jerez, and see if he could introduce us to some Spanish friends. Vermont (Carlos’s new nickname) turned out to be Spanish, a Jerezano who had bought the shirt here in Spain, and we deemed him (how lucky is he?!?) our first Spanish friend! We were very excited.
In addition to making a friend, this weekend we went to see an Argentinian man give a monologue at a center for creative arts (Emily made me go), as well as a horse jumping competition. Jerez is known for its School of Equestrian Arts so it was exciting to happen upon this important part of the city’s culture.
On a different note, coming to Spain has been incredibly eye opening. Being immersed in another culture, even one with which I am already familiar, is teaching me so much about myself, my country, and my own culture. I am seeing first hand how much of an impact US politics and the economy have on Spain and Europe. Everyone that we have talked to has brought up the upcoming election and the presidential candidates, the faltering economy, and their fears for the future and hopes for change. The feelings of guilt and sorrow are always present during these conversations, when I watch the nightly news, and when I read the newspapers. How can it be that one, solo uno, country can have such an impact on others?
Fortunately, I have already met a few social workers and some professors at my school that are going to help me find some volunteer work to do while I am here. Spain, like the US, is experiencing a large influx of immigrants from both African and South American countries. This is a relatively new phenomenon here and Spain is not yet sure how to react or how to respond. I think working in the social services here will prove very rewarding and gaining knowledge about the social systems of other countries will be very powerful. I plan on starting as soon as I get a schedule at school (...I am starting to doubt that this will ever happen) and I am looking forward to experiencing this lesser-known aspect of Spain.
This weekend, which stretched from Thursday through Monday thanks to what the Spanish call a “puente” (bridge) which links multiple días de fiesta together, allowed us to participate in many interesting events throughout the city. Thursday Emily and I went to the city of Cádiz, the sister city of Havana, Cuba to sit at the beach and relax in the 80 degree weather. It was great. Not having a beach towel, I brought the extra pillow case that came with my sheets (actually, the ‘sheets’ that I bought in a 2x1 deal turned out to be comforter covers…currently my mattress is inside of one and the other I use as a double sheet) which proved to work just fine.
That night Emily and I decided to venture out to start Operation Make Spanish Friends, and we started at a bar called La Moderna where we had seen university aged, hippie-types the week before. Arriving at 10:00pm, early for Spanish night-life, we were surprised that the bar was closing soon after our arrival and that there was no one in the bar even as young as double our age. (Although we did not make any friends, we did meet a 60 year old man whose father was born in Wisconsin which was pretty coincidental.)
We continued our night at a bar called Cuatro Gatos where we went to see live music by a duo called Nacho and Gunnar. Venturing out on our own to make friends was a very interesting experience. I am pretty shy in English, so you can only imagine how I feel making friends in Spanish. I really have to put myself out there, mix with the people, and forget about the being shy or making mistakes when speaking. The first friend we made was a woman from Israel, who is here in Jerez to learn flamenco and who was so excited to hear us speaking English…it was a good start, but we still needed Spanish friends who could force us to speak Spanish.
After the concert we were continuing our operation when we saw someone in the bar wearing a Vermont shirt. Although clearly American, we thought it might be good to talk to him, find out what he was doing in Jerez, and see if he could introduce us to some Spanish friends. Vermont (Carlos’s new nickname) turned out to be Spanish, a Jerezano who had bought the shirt here in Spain, and we deemed him (how lucky is he?!?) our first Spanish friend! We were very excited.
In addition to making a friend, this weekend we went to see an Argentinian man give a monologue at a center for creative arts (Emily made me go), as well as a horse jumping competition. Jerez is known for its School of Equestrian Arts so it was exciting to happen upon this important part of the city’s culture.
On a different note, coming to Spain has been incredibly eye opening. Being immersed in another culture, even one with which I am already familiar, is teaching me so much about myself, my country, and my own culture. I am seeing first hand how much of an impact US politics and the economy have on Spain and Europe. Everyone that we have talked to has brought up the upcoming election and the presidential candidates, the faltering economy, and their fears for the future and hopes for change. The feelings of guilt and sorrow are always present during these conversations, when I watch the nightly news, and when I read the newspapers. How can it be that one, solo uno, country can have such an impact on others?
Fortunately, I have already met a few social workers and some professors at my school that are going to help me find some volunteer work to do while I am here. Spain, like the US, is experiencing a large influx of immigrants from both African and South American countries. This is a relatively new phenomenon here and Spain is not yet sure how to react or how to respond. I think working in the social services here will prove very rewarding and gaining knowledge about the social systems of other countries will be very powerful. I plan on starting as soon as I get a schedule at school (...I am starting to doubt that this will ever happen) and I am looking forward to experiencing this lesser-known aspect of Spain.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Moving Day
We have a house! Friday morning Emily and I arrived in Jerez, went to a hostel and dropped off our bags, and then went out to find ourselves a place to call home. The first person that Emily convinced me to call was actually selling a whole apartment building, including 3 floors and an elevator…not exactly what we were looking for. At the tourist information office we asked where to look for apartments and they told us to buy the Cambalache, a newspaper that lists apartments that are for rent. After our siesta, we went right to work circling apartments and calling the places that looked promising. Of all the people we called and all the places that we would have liked to visit, we were only able to see one place.
Turns out we are now living here. We only had to stay one night at the hostel and moved in at 2:00pm to our wonderful new home that is actually a converted garden house/patio. It is a very cute, 3 bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchen and living room. It also has ‘interesting’ art from the baroque time period, including a huge painting of what appears to be Columbus’s ship sailing to America. We will be taking those down this week.
My bedroom, the first of the three, looks like it is for a little boy…the headboard, night table and desk chair are all painted bright green and blue. The curtains are of the same palate, as well as the bedspread, and I had a shelf that also matched, however I accidentally bumped it about an hour after we moved in and it shattered into a thousand pieces. The bathroom is very cute and quite large, yet it has no shelving or cabinet space. So, as all creative people would do, we had to place most of our shower and bath stuff in the bowl of the bidet. It looks fantastic.
The best part of our place is the patio, which our apartment surrounds in an L shape, that is covered with bright tiles and tons of plants. We are away from the street behind two other apartments on the first floor, so it is secluded from everyone and very quite. Today we moved the table from the extra bedroom to our patio and ate our lunch out there in the shade.
Originally we were looking to share an apartment with one or more Spaniards to force ourselves to speak in Spanish daily. We could not find even one shared apartment, so we opted instead for this one that is right downtown, the cheapest we saw, and what turned out to be pretty much our one, and only option. Today we have spoken only a handful of English words to one another and we are forcing ourselves to converse in Spanish, which is actually easier than I thought it would be.
Tomorrow both Emily and I start school. We have different placements, but they are only 2 or 3 blocks from one another so we will probably walk together in the morning. We will both be supervised by a bilingual coordinator, who we were told may or may not know we are coming, and expected to work 12 hours a week. This work may consist of teaching an English class, teaching subject classes in English, or taking our English department teachers out to coffee so that they may practice their conversation skills.
I cannot believe I have been in Spain only a week and a half, but I am super content here and ready to start a regular schedule. What I have seen from walking around these past two days in my new city is that I will grow to love it very quickly, it is incredibly beautiful, and the people here like to be outside and share good company. I think I will fit right in.
Here is my new address:
C/ Higueras 12, Bajo B
Jerez de la Frontera, 11403
Espana
Phone: 34-667-011-030
Turns out we are now living here. We only had to stay one night at the hostel and moved in at 2:00pm to our wonderful new home that is actually a converted garden house/patio. It is a very cute, 3 bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchen and living room. It also has ‘interesting’ art from the baroque time period, including a huge painting of what appears to be Columbus’s ship sailing to America. We will be taking those down this week.
My bedroom, the first of the three, looks like it is for a little boy…the headboard, night table and desk chair are all painted bright green and blue. The curtains are of the same palate, as well as the bedspread, and I had a shelf that also matched, however I accidentally bumped it about an hour after we moved in and it shattered into a thousand pieces. The bathroom is very cute and quite large, yet it has no shelving or cabinet space. So, as all creative people would do, we had to place most of our shower and bath stuff in the bowl of the bidet. It looks fantastic.
The best part of our place is the patio, which our apartment surrounds in an L shape, that is covered with bright tiles and tons of plants. We are away from the street behind two other apartments on the first floor, so it is secluded from everyone and very quite. Today we moved the table from the extra bedroom to our patio and ate our lunch out there in the shade.
Originally we were looking to share an apartment with one or more Spaniards to force ourselves to speak in Spanish daily. We could not find even one shared apartment, so we opted instead for this one that is right downtown, the cheapest we saw, and what turned out to be pretty much our one, and only option. Today we have spoken only a handful of English words to one another and we are forcing ourselves to converse in Spanish, which is actually easier than I thought it would be.
Tomorrow both Emily and I start school. We have different placements, but they are only 2 or 3 blocks from one another so we will probably walk together in the morning. We will both be supervised by a bilingual coordinator, who we were told may or may not know we are coming, and expected to work 12 hours a week. This work may consist of teaching an English class, teaching subject classes in English, or taking our English department teachers out to coffee so that they may practice their conversation skills.
I cannot believe I have been in Spain only a week and a half, but I am super content here and ready to start a regular schedule. What I have seen from walking around these past two days in my new city is that I will grow to love it very quickly, it is incredibly beautiful, and the people here like to be outside and share good company. I think I will fit right in.
Here is my new address:
C/ Higueras 12, Bajo B
Jerez de la Frontera, 11403
Espana
Phone: 34-667-011-030
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